Salzburg, the city of music nestled in the Alps, might have to be one of the single best cities in the entire world. On our Christmas break so far I have had snow, accomplished a life goal in seeing Neuschwanstein, and had an awesome time with these experiences. But the best so far is Salzburg.
If you have ever been there then you would understand. The city is old and untouched by the nearly half century of wars that afflicted this continent. It is also remarkably clean. The white buildings gleam in the daylight and music echoes in seemingly every alley and street. A river runs through the middle of the city, adding to the picturesque scene of it all. Above the gleaming white buildings and the snaking river juts the magnificently obtrusive Austrian Alps. Their high spires and ridges stand high around the city announcing their presence in the scene with the subtlety of a giant in the shire.
The morning we were planning on exploring the city dawned and after the sun had risen to an appropriate height for a Christmas break we woke up and began our journey. This was the first real time we saw the city. I was shocked when I saw how beautiful it was. I couldn't say much else throughout the day except to express that very thought over and over.
The castle of Salzburg stands high atop a giant hill with steep cliffs all the way around it. We later found out that it had never been taken by force. Because we had a do-pretty-much-whatever-you-want-in-Salzburg-for-a-reasonable-price card, otherwise know as a Salzburg Card, we took the cog railcar up the mountain and explored this awesome fortress. We later found a tour that looked interesting and was free with are magical card of Salzburg awesomeness. We would never miss out on a tour of a castle especially one so cool, so of course we went. The top of the castle had magnificent 360 degree views of the valley below and the mountains around. I thought it was the best view I had ever seen. And it was, until the next day (See Salzburg Day 2: The mountains are calling and I must go). We spent as long as the tour would let us looking out over this awesome view. Then we descended back into the hollows of the castle. The people back then must have been short because true to the inner Murphy in me I hit my head on the way down.
On our tour Michael and I saw an ad for a Schubert and Mozart concert in the caste that evening. It was Christmas Eve and that sounded like a wonderful way to spend the evening.
There was time between the concert and when we were done with the caste tour so we walked around the old city for a while. This would not be the last time, and as time would later tell, me and my camera became a hard party to pull from here. In the old city was the Christmas Market. The Salzburg Christmas Market is pretty famous and I really wanted to experience it before it closed in a few hours. It was totally different from the Christmas Markets in Germany it seemed, but maybe that's because Salzburg is nothing like anywhere in Germany I have experienced. I don't really know how to describe it. Words like quaint, picturesque, and comfortable just don't quite work.
The time for the concert was approaching and we headed back towards the castle. I can see why the cog railcar is so popular among the people. The road to the castle is one of the steepest I have ever been on. It was a nice hike and I need to get back into climbing shape so I didn't complain.
The concert was in a small back hall in the castle. No more than a hundred people were there. I felt lucky to be able to hear Mozart music in the city where he was born. In the audience I hardly heard any German. I don't know if this is because the people speaking other languages are just louder than those speaking German or if it was primarily a tourist thing. My money is on a little of both. The people beside us spoke German though and they sounded like they were from Austria so I don't know for sure.
The concert began fifteen minutes late because people were still getting seated. The audience clapped between every movement. As annoying as it was to me (and from what I could see, also to the cellist) the music was awesome and the ambience of a concert in a castle forgave all.
Our knowledge of classical music helped when the concert stopped.
We could tell that most people didn't know if it was intermission or the end. We didn't pay for a program so we didn't see for sure but we knew what was supposed to be playing and we knew we didn't hear one of the Mozart pieces. It was indeed an intermission and when the music started, the amount of empty seats showed that a lot of people didn't know. Sad for them because the end was awesome. The sun began to set out the window of the castle. I looked out and could see the mountains lighting up in the way that only mountains can at sunset. Outside it was beautiful. Inside, the second movement of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik was starting. It fit with the atmosphere so well that I was sure the magic of Christmas was giving a present just for me. This began my Christmas in Salzburg.
There couldn't have been many ways outside of being with family that it could have been better.
After the concert Michael and I chose to walk down from the castle instead of taking the cog railcar. This was a good life choice. It was beautiful to see Salzburg from above at night. Cities at night have been some of my favorite things to see, especially in Europe. Salzburg didn't disappoint.
Because we have such a propensity to climb things that it borders on the clinical side, we had to go to the hill on the other side of the river and look out. We hiked for a long time and didn't get above the trees. In the darkness of a forest at night we decided to go off the trail and head straight up the side of the hill to the top. It seemed like a good idea at the time. We had the city lights to aim for on our way back so we were pretty sure we weren't going to get lost.
We did not get lost. But What we couldn't see in the darkness were briar patches that put any I have previously experienced to shame. We quickly retreated. I was getting very hungry so eventually we turned around. We found the city wall and this temporarily distracted me from my hunger so we followed it for a while and finally stopped and looked out over the whole city as per our original plan. When my need for food finally outweighed my need to take pictures we headed back in town where we could shed some light on my high maintenance Christmas Eve meal of avocado and cream cheese on pita bread.
On our walk back to the city center we saw many lone persons sitting on a bench nursing a beer and cigar. I thought that seemed like a terribly lonesome way to spend the holiday and when I didn't want to think about it any longer we found our own secluded bench in the city square. The contrast of the bustling of just a few hours before and the dexadness of what it was when we ate there was unimaginable. But there was still music. There seems to always be music in Salzburg.
I cannot describe to you the ubiquity of the music in Salzburg especially around Christmas, but it's there, always. The music accompanied our meal as we gazed upon the castle gleaming in the night. With no sound at all in the city other than the distant sounds of Christmas music, our very own Silent Night had started, and my very own fantastic day had ended.
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Our trip to Salzburg doesn't end here though. Read "Salzburg Day 2: The mountains are calling and I must go" to read about our Christmas Day in the city of music, mountains, and Mozart.
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